Toad
Toad was the former High King of Ireland until his death on December 31, 1466. He is the former Mayor of An Caiseal, Ceatherlach, and An tInbhear Mor and former Duke of Laighean County, Ireland. He is the current Chancellor of Laighean. He is lovingly referred to as "Toad the Tyrant" for his often blunt and commandeering leadership style, letting logic rather than emotion dictate the path. He was responsible for leading the Town of An Caiseal into their "Era of Enlightenment" and spearheading the FREEDOM party's movement to ensure a oppression-free Laighean County after the "cleansing" which resulted in the collapse of the oppressive Peacemaker's party which had been full of clones. Arrival in An Caiseal No one is quite sure where Toad came from. It's as if he sprouted out of a pipe in the ground. He has quite the vivid imagination. And quite a fondness for mushrooms. Some suspect that the consumption of certain mushrooms is the reason for that vivid imagination of his. Talk of Piranha Plants, Fire Breathing Turtles and some mysterious Princess who has a special talent for getting kidnapped seemed to be a recurring theme in Toad's ramblings. His intentions were honorable and pure though, so he was accepted into An Caiseal. While the concepts of reincarnation are a predominantly eastern philosophy, it would be hard for most to argue the notion that it was as if Toad was the reincarnation of some past great mind. His leadership, diplomatic, and economic skills were well honed and he was a man of logic rather than whim. It wasn't long before several citizens in town began to urge for him to seek out a position on the Town Council, a position that the Town Council was more than willing to oblige. Joining the Town Council In order to join the Council, it required a sitting member to sponsor Toad; the town Priest, Mogh did just that and in a unanimous decision, Toad was voted onto the council. His primary focus early on was on his personal butcher shop and tavern, "The Toadstool" where he sold milk and meat, two rare commidities. It had been several months since the town had seen a steady supply of either necessity. Toad maintained active cow farms, breaking down cow and pig carcasses left and right while spending lots of time with several of the long time residents and councilors of the town to better understand the political environment and have a more informed opinion involving the town's particular state in the county. There were lots of powerful, particular and delusional personalities in the county that Toad would be encountering in this new positions of responsibility. Toad's primary focuses on council when he first joined were analyzing the advantages and disadvantages as well as any major risks of An Caiseal becoming a Republic. He also openly took on the Elves, lead by Hannah (IGN: Onlygirl) in public when they tried to character assassinate other members of town. With Evenstar08 stepping down as Mayor, Toad was notorious for promoting a united front against the Elves, encouraging that only one person run against Laenatar for Mayor. Unfortunately, Lyonnel, the people's choice, was accompanied by BardBart & Taelisin in the election causing the votes to split resulting in a lead by Laenatar, but failing to win him the election. A run off resulted in Lyonnel achieving 63.2% of the vote defeating Laenatar's 36.8% and keeping the Elves out of power. They slowly began to slip away into the background. Lyonnel spent two terms in office, however, a week or two into his second term, he disappeared and a few of the councilors, Toad included, did their best to keep the Mayor's absence from being noticed. Simultaneously, Lyonnel's brother, Michel.Selmy also disappeared, sadly with a grant containing some of Lyonnel's personal wheat as well as quite a bit of Town Hall funds and assets. The grant was valued at around 1,600+ pounds and had been a huge point of contention between several council members and a former Mayor sitting on council named, Rolande. Toad had always been indifferent about the idea of being able to sell this wheat at increased prices outside the county, he had zero interest in trade deals and while he had a strong understanding of economics, there were others on council more suited to address the idea and he remained neutral on the matter. To this day, Rolande blames Toad for letting that grant be created, despite Toad's indifference on the matter. With the disappearance of the Selmy brothers, Rolande threw his name in for Mayor and ran against the leader of the Elves, Hannah, defeating her 81% to 19%. Failed Bid for Mayor On February 24th of 1463, Toad through his name in for Mayor 5 days before the election, with no chance to conduct a formal campaign, he came up short, achieving only 45.2% of the vote, resulting in Rolande being re-elected with the 54.8% majority. However, Rolande stated that due to interest from other candidates, he would not seek re-election. The "Bandit-Mayor" and "Tyrant" Title Toad hadn't even set foot in the Mayor's Office before the former Mayor took to the streets to proclaim everything that was wrong with the town, placing all of the blame on the new mayor, Toad. Due to Toad's fondness for the criminal, Amelia Dyer, the former Mayor made quite a bit of tavern banter about Toad's ties to the bandits from "Bandit Land" (Baile Locha Riach) that had been plaguing the roads all around An Caiseal. The Era of Enlightenment This movement had two main focuses. Firstly, Toad's primary goal was addressing the needs of the citizens of An Caiseal before anyone else, something that had been neglected by the previous Mayor. Secondly, Toad wanted to forge a lasting bond between the town and Laighean County, a relationship that was estranged at best, prior to Toad taking office. Joining the Peacekeeper's List Somewhere during Toad's 5th and 6th terms as Mayor, after volunteering to hold a position on the County Council, Spring.. offered him a place on the Peacekeepers list and the position of Constable which he accepted. Upon entering the coveted council chambers, he discovered it to be nothing as described by his fellow English, Scottish and Irish council people he'd encountered. It was silent. There were cobwebs all about. Something was seriously strange about the situation, but as a junior councilor and the sitting Mayor of An Caiseal, Toad's focus was on continuing to rebuild trust and camaraderie between the town and the county. Stirring up controversy upon taking a council seat would have been contractictory to progress in his mind so with the exception of some vague concerns express to Spring.., the current Sheriff, Toad dropped it. For nearly half the term, things ran smoothly like usual. The Cleansing On the 9th of September, 1463, Toad's close friend Radha contacted him with urgent news. Laighean had long been plagued by a host of citizens that appeared to be soulless. Simple automatons that ate, worked, and said nothing. Some of them ran towns. Many held county seats. Heck, even the Duchess at the time, Showgirl, was an alleged puppet to an anonymous master. The news would change the face of Laighean, Ireland, and the English-speaking counties completely. Jah had struck. Eradicating somewhere between one third and half the population of Laighean. Upon receiving this information, Toad headed straight to the county offices to find only Spring.. and himself left. Word of the cleansing spread like wildfire and Toad's Mayor's office was quickly bombarded by messengers from the neighboring towns. Toad's old ties had garnered him the trust of some of his lesser known to him neighbors. They looked to Toad as an unbiased, family-less, clan-less leader of a fragmented county. Toad was honored to be looked at for shouldering such an important task. He couldn't say no and let his fellow countryfolk down. He began drafting the plans for a new party to take them into the future. Free from the puppetry. Free from the control of an anonymous mastermind that stymied the free-thinkers and soulful citizens that wanted to give back and participate in the governing of their nation. Divine Intervention lead to some of the vacant council positions being filled by the remaining Mayors and Mentors from the towns so that order could be re-established. Evenstar08 of An Caiseal, Raniets and Aishling of Port Lairge, and Tezria of An tInbhear Mor joined the council with Spring.. and Toad. An emergency Ducal vote was called, resulting in Toad winning 5 to 1. After the election, Toad spoke with Raniets and another member of the Rounders, Skibicki.The party tag "FREED" was suggested, with the party name "FREEDOM". A list was formed under these names (the tag later changing to FREE from the 2nd list forward). A new dawn was breaking in Laighean. Founding the Freedom Party Coming soon. Resignation from the An Caiseal Mayor's Office With the new duties as Duke of Laighean, after serving seven consecutive terms in An Caiseal and increasing the town's networth tenfold to over 20,000 pounds with the help of a very active Town Council and population, Toad stepped down as Mayor of An Caiseal, handing the keys to the Town Hall over to long time Councillor and one of his closest advisors, Vrug. The Winter Ducal Tour 1463 With the town hall safely handed over to Vrug, Toad set off to visit the other towns in in Laighean, something he had not done much of prior to his status as Mayor of An Caiseal. He had never been to Ceatharlach nor An tInbhear Mor. Having only spent a few days in Cill Chainnigh and Port Lairge here or there. While on his trip through the county, Toad was able to address market issues first hand and see that the stimulus packages that were designed and approved by his council were doing their intended job. Like his previous trade runs to other towns, instead of the usual town or county guards, Toad enlisted some of AmeliaDyer's bandits to accompany him, killing two birds with one stone: they kept him safe, and he kept them out of trouble (and other travelers safe from robbery). Resignation from Cashel's Town Council, Moving to Ceatharlach & The Ceatharlach Snowman Toward the end of the Ducal Tour, Toad had spent several weeks in An tInbhear Mor, watching the town begin to flourish again with renewed vigor from the new Mayor, Rionikki. However, Ceatharlach was still struggling despite a few ambitious Irishmen had returned to the town to attempt to bolster the numbers in the quaint river town. On the 27th of December 1463, Toad tendered his resignation to his comrades on the An Caiseal Town Council. It was agreed upon that he would refrain from voting, but would retain his seat in an advisory role. After dealing with his council business, Toad finished packing up his home. With a Laighean County Guard escort, Toad moved all of his belongings to a home built down by the shore near the harbor of Ceatharlach. The river village had been a haven to zombies of the Peacemaker party, with them wiped out, Ceatharlach had become a ghost town. As Toad had walked the streets of town, he stopped at the market, taking notice of a snowman that another villager had hastily begun constructing. Since it was Yule time, Toad felt that he should get in the festive mood and finish off the creation. Not being in An Caiseal had him quite bummed, despite knowing he had done what was best for the County. Ceatharlach needed him more than An Caiseal did. Toad's quirks got the better of him and he worked tirelessly through the night. Gathering snowballs by the dozens, seeking out the perfect stones for eyes, and by fortune had all the necessary wool and vegetables in his cart to finish off the rest of the features and accessories. By morning he had erected a grand snowman in the center of the market, nearly single-handedly. There was something truly enchanting about the snowman. Resignation from the County Council & Chancellor Appointment After his reign as Duke for two and a half terms, it was time for Toad to lead by example regarding his rotating council seat concept. He was one of three councilors to step down off council to open up seats for others to have an opportunity to serve on the county council. While still holding an unofficial advisory role, a naval matter arose involving a rogue pirate named Giles_Ratclife and the port of Chard. It seemed Giles open fired on a ship docked in Chard resulting the the English navy wanting his head. Due to Giles being a resident of Port Lairge, Laighean authorities were immediately contacted. Radha, Duchess of Laighean reached out to Toad for advisement on the matter as he had dealt with the English more than anyone else since the fall of Spring. As a result, she made a Ducal decree proclaiming Toad the new Chancellor of Laighean so that he could address the matter. Which he, the Devon Navy and Queen Aggnes were able to come to a very amiable agreement in a very short amount of time. This helped further solidify friendly relations between England and Laighean. Due to Toad's growing status with the English, Laighean's strongest ally, it was agreed he should keep the title of Chancellor, much to his chagrin and dislike for foreign affairs and their formalities. Scotland and England Tour 1464 In March of 1464, Toad and a small accompaniment of Irish citizens delivered a ship to Galloway, Scotland. Toad went his separate way upon landing in Galloway and went on to meet several of Galloway's councilmen and councilwomen including the current Lord Protector, Mercury_Macranald and the sitting Duke, Aroch. Together they put together an intelligence sharing treaty between Laighean and Galloway. After completing the treaty, Toad was able to hitch a ride on Admiral Zukkie's barge "The River Pearl" to Egremont, Westmorland, England to begin putting together a new treaty between the English and Laighean. With the Celtic Alliance dead, it was time for a new, more prosperous future to be forge between the two English-speaking powers. Toad spent most of his time in Westmorland, around the towns of Egremont and Liverpool, but did venture across the border into Mercia to spend time in Lichfield and was privileged to sit with the Queen in her Derby summer home while she was away from London. Toad was in England for several months working on this new treaty with the English. He formed many close, new friendships. He returned to Liverpool after his jaunt into Mercia and finally received word that all of the signatures and seals were attained. The treaty was finalized and his work was done. Sadly, due to a busy shipping schedule, Toad was stranded in Liverpool. Two other Laighean citizens whom had traveled with Toad before, rejoined his party in Liverpool along with a young Englishwoman looking to reconnect with a long lost sister. The foursome began to travel north toward the Galloway border. Toad wrote to his good friend Lord MacRanald and requested a barge, "Mushmellow" be constructed for him and that he would happily pay the sum of one thousand pounds for it. The Scot gladly accepted the job, and a few weeks later upon Toad and his party's arrival, the barge, "Mushmellow" sat complete in Whithorn's port. It was here in Whithorn that Toad was introduced to four other foreign travelers interested in seeing his home on the beautiful Emerald Isle. Toad welcomed them aboard Mushmellow and they set sail back for Laighean. The Toadstool Casino Chain While on the 1463 Winter Ducal Tour of Laighean, Toad began to expand his tavern enterprise into a chain of casinos throughout Laighean to bring friendly gambling to every town. While Toad was in retreat during mid to late 1465, battling illness, he had his casinos shut down and has not reopened them at this point. * The Toadstool on the Rock (An Caiseal) * The Toadstool over the River (Ceatharlach) * The Toadstool through the Woods (Cill Chainnigh) * The Toadstool by the Sea (An tInbhear Mor) * The Toadstool at the Docks (Port Láirge) The 2nd Run as Duke of Laighean / 6th, 7th, and 8th Freedom Councils As part of Toad's major platform for the FREEDOM Party, Toad lead by example and gave up his position on the council to allow new blood an opportunity to serve Laighean. However, after being off council for three terms, Skibicki, former Trade Minister and current Duke expressed zero interest in continue on as Duke and had set his sights on the monarchy of Ireland. With this change, Toad ran the FREEDOM list for the 6th term and retained his position as Duke. With Skibicki's family/clan "The Rounders" and the FREEDOM Party's support in both votes and financial backing, Skibicki soundly defeated his opponents to become Ireland's first monarch post-Cleansing. Toad continued as Duke of Laighean for the 7th and 8th council lists, teaching the ways of Duke to Razgul who would replace him for the 9th Council. Return to the An Caiseal Mayor's Office With Toad out of the council, he returned to the Mayor's Office of An Caiseal for a few terms to survey the status of the town. After serving as Mayor for a few terms and giving others a break, he once again turned the reigns over to Lady Almathea. Retreat, Return and New Adventures Toward the end of 1464, Toad began to feel ill. It became increasingly painful for him to work. After serving as Duke for the 8th FREEDOM Council of Laighean, he stepped down once more, with Razgul taking the position of Duke. Eventually in early 1465, once it was clear to Toad that Razgul had a strong understanding of the job requirements, Toad went up to the hills north of An Caiseal to stay with the monks. He expected to die. He spent a year or so with the monks, corresponding only with Radha and Evenstar08. Providing counsel where he could, but remaining away. While Toad was away, the position of Duke/Duchess was held by Razgul and Baneplase. Unfortunately, during Baneplase's time as Duke, his mismanagement lead to some heavy losses for the county and his abrupt departure from the council without a formal resignation was felt for months to follow. Razgul resumed the role of Duke until he too found himself overwhelmed with work and resigned. At about the same time of Razgul's resignation, Radha had contacted Toad and explained the situation. Toad, having had a turn for the better while away, returned from the monastery and with Radha, coordinated a replacement for Razgul until a formal election could be held. Julia.James became the temporary Duchess and worked with Toad on prestigious ceremonies. The two became close. Toad joined the county list and when the formal election was over, Toad was appointed Duke. This made him both the first and final Duke for the FREEDOM Party. Rejuvenating the Council & Founding the Saoirse Party Coming soon. Adopting Zeruda & Kyatto, Marriage & Moving to An tInbhear Mor Coming soon. Bid for "King"dom Management Coming soon. Matters of Faith Coming soon. Death Coming soon.